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GUEST OF HONOR—The Dallas Citizens Council recently hosted a luncheon at which they welcomed Dallas ISD Superintendent and A&M-Commerce alumnus Mike Moses.

The issue of limited English-speaking students certainly concerns me. The Dallas district has the largest percentage of students that are limited English-speaking of any urban district in the state. This will be a tremendous challenge. I don’t know that it will affect my leadership style, and I still believe that children who speak languages other than English can be taught. Having administered an accountability system across the state that takes a look at student performance for African American children, Hispanic children, economically disadvantaged children, and all others has made me realize that all children are teachable. We as adults simply have to make sure that we take the necessary actions to allow boys and girls to realize their potential.

On working with the district’s often vocal teacher associations: Working with teacher organizations is part of the responsibility of being a superintendent. I would like to think that I am a teacher first. I certainly began my career in education as a teacher. Everyone in my immediate family has been a teacher. Teachers will be treated with dignity and respect. I will certainly give honor to the work done by teachers in the classroom, and I will respect their efforts. That does not mean that we will always agree, but I will do my best to reach out to our staff and be sensitive to their working conditions. Having said that, learning conditions for children always come first.

NEXT QUESTION, PLEASE—Following an official appearance as the new superintendant of Dallas ISD, reporters question Mike about his priorities for the district, which include safe schools and improved student performance.

On high-stakes testing:
The current testing program in place is a good one. We call it a high-stakes testing program, but the truth of the matter is that fewer and fewer students are failing the exit-level test. In the next few years, the testing program will likely become more rigorous. The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills is a more rigorous curriculum than the essential elements. Accordingly, one would expect the assessments to be more difficult. Nevertheless, I do believe that students and teachers will meet expectations if they are given a fair and stable target. Moving the target each year does not encourage educators. It is demoralizing to both students and teachers. If we keep the target stable and continue to measure carefully, we will see improvement on the assessments given by the state.

On what his wife, Debi, and their boys think of the move:
My family has always been very supportive of my work. I am extremely blessed to have a great wife and two wonderful sons. It would be impossible to do my work without their support and encouragement. Our oldest son will be graduating this year from a high school in Lubbock. Our youngest son will be moving to Dallas and enrolling in a high school in the Dallas Independent School District. While there is some anxiety, there is also a certain amount of excitement about moving to Dallas. Once we are all relocated in Dallas next summer, I think we will be quite pleased.

On his time here:
The training and education that I received at East Texas State University (now Texas A&M-Commerce) was invaluable. Those individuals with whom I came in contact within the department of education administration were wonderful mentors. Dr. M. B. Nelson was one of my all time favorites. Dr. Loren Betz, Dr. Jim Vornberg, Dr. Bob Munday, Dr. Doyne McNew, Dr. Harold Murphy, Dr. Bill Webb, Dr. Dennis McCabe, and Dr. Barry Thompson all made lasting impressions on me. The time I spent in Commerce was exciting and rewarding. It pleases me a great deal to have an association with Texas A&M-Commerce. The statistics class with Dr. Harold Murphy was especially memorable. It always amazed me that I paid money for tuition in order to be insulted. Statements such as “Even Trigger could figure that out!” were humbling to say the least. Nevertheless, Dr. Murphy was one of many professors who made me look forward to just going to class. I think one professor may have commented when I left, “Well, now that Moses is out, our enrollment is bound to go up. Most of our students will probably figure that if he can finish, anybody can.” I think it was a joke, but I hope my graduation helped enrollment. While I have spent time in just about every part of Texas, including West Texas, Central Texas, and the Gulf Coast, I really identify with the people east of Dallas. East Texas is a great place. I am glad that I grew up in East Texas and met many people with whom I have been honored to associate. Obviously, by my work in Dallas, I hope I can reflect favorably on the folks in East Texas where I grew up.

 

“I am elated that Mike Moses is coming to Dallas as its new superintendent. If anyone can lead them out of the conflict and inattention to those matters that count for improving student performance, Mike can do it. He has the political skill, the managerial expertise, the instructional knowledge, and finally the leadership capabilities to make and allow the right things to happen. As a school district neighbor, we believe that the better the core city district is in educating students, the better off all surrounding districts are, as well as the state as a whole. I am glad, too, that he happens to be a fellow graduate of Texas A&M University-Commerce.” —Dr. John Horn, Mesquite ISD superintendent